Disillusioned Niceties
by RegencyPoet
Summary: When the line between predator and prey is crossed. Partly Dracula x OC.


_As a result of the time it's taking to update my _Shadows_ story, I've decided to post a story I wrote about a year ago for my creative writing class my senior year of high school. I wasn't expecting such a tremendous load of work this early in college (even though I'm in a dual degree program), but it happened, and I'm afraid I can't update _Shadows_ until Christmas break. Therefore, in place of an update, I decided I'll share this non-edited, old one-shot that I'm not particularly proud of even though it's decent enough to post on the VH category. Enjoy!  
_  
The lingering scent of her fear trailed through the entrance to the woods, her falling footsteps stepping in sync with his as he followed her into the darkness. Eventually he would catch her, but he chose to bide his time and relish in the adrenaline of the chase. It had been too long since he met such a spirited woman—a woman who overlooked the decisions she made, analyzing the many acquaintances of hers that could be trusted or cast aside. Indeed, she was a woman of caution and intelligence, two traits he noticed lacking in the women of this time period. Of the three-hundred years he spent existing in this world as an immortal; this woman was a worthwhile piece to his game.

Her family's wealth extended to the ranks of a plethora of dukes and duchesses, yet she flaunted none of it. The education her father fostered for her from her days of childhood to adulthood radiated in the way she walked, the way she communicated with her peers, and the way she held her head high when burdened with the trivialities accompanying the mind of a woman. All of these attributes that attracted him to her in the first place seemed to fall away as he pursued her. Efforts made on the lady's behalf to evade him fell fruitless to his commandeering will to find her. He would allow her endless time to run ahead and believe herself free of the danger she wallowed in presently.

But he will find her, once he grew bored of her cries and the scent of terror diminishing with each step of progress she made to guard her life. Taking long, stretching strides that crunched the forest floor into a rhythm of broken leaves, he sensed her direction changing. A new scent entered his nostrils as soon as the path the woman took drastically altered: confidence. Had her cleverness found its way back to her at last? He felt a toothy grin break the closure of his lips, the exposed teeth growing to points and hungering for the surface of unbroken skin. He quickened his pace, running deeper into the shade of the forest at alarming speeds, the wind making his hair grow wild and his features unnatural.

In the shadows he waited, watching the woman's confidence falter when he made his presence known. She grew indecisive on where she stepped, her radiant, gold hair whipping about her the instant he crunched another foot on the forest terrain. He waited gradual lengths of time for her to crumble, to whisper, "I am here," in defeat. Not once did she carry out what he expected of her. Sobbing out of fear for her life, she dragged onwards. Her hands brushed against the bark of the trees, leaving behind a scent mixed with determination and terror that he inhaled delightfully.

"Stella…" he blew her name out into the wind, carrying it to her ears as a final warning of the danger he would unleash.

Stella did not answer back. She breathed in short, shallow gasps, flattening her body against the weight of a large oak. He passed by that tree knowingly, but he wouldn't turn around until he felt her truly believe she was safe once again. There never came a moment of safety for her—he had watched her since the beginning of her flight into the greenery. The subconscious mind had its advantages, or better yet weaknesses, when it concerned the true meaning of fear. Fear is an emotion that keeps the mouse from outsmarting the rat, the prey from escaping the predator. Fear can also allow the prey to be cautious and have the potential to win the game the predator loves to play. But not this time. The predator carries certain supernatural abilities far beyond the physical capacities the prey had been born with.

"I see you," he whispered. She felt his breath ghost across her damp skin, but her weak eyes could not see his form beyond the blanketing blackness that swallowed her shadow whole.

Stella released a scream silenced by his hand, the sudden flow of tears becoming a flood as he shushed her to quiet. They stood in the midst of the evergreens, the prize caught and the award only a few minutes away. She didn't know what to think anymore—in her ultimate view, this was the end of her life as she knew it. This would be the end of a life that had just begun. What would her family think when she wouldn't return home tonight? Would they think she ran away with a lover? Her family knew she wasn't a stupid young woman, but they also knew the long-stretched adventures she sought sometimes brought her into the eyes of peril. The fact that made her knees sink lower toward the ground, to the point that he had no choice but to hold her up on his own, was that she never suspected such evil in this man she sat at the mercy of.

He had ascertained his intentions with Stella the day she met him. He would give her eternal life, the curse keeping him alive for centuries on end and preventing him from making acquaintances long-time partners. Stella's strength left her awhile ago, and her vulnerability gave him the opportunity to make his move and steal her life in her weakest moment. The blushing rose of her lips disappeared under the cover of his face as did the shining white of the moon blackened out by the thick canopies of trees.

"This may hurt only a little. Have no fear," his voice rang with mockery and taunts that ceased to calm her in the struggling grip of death. He inched down, drumming the tips of his fingers across her throat to find a harshly-beating pulse to plunge into. Stella released a pathetic whimper, imagining the city's clock ticking midnight as his teeth sunk through the soft skin of her neck. The world spun before her eyes in a whirlwind of color, the beautiful mess of stars blurring into an abstract work of art.

What little strength remained in Stella's body slipped under, and soon she felt her arms grow limp and numb… weightless, as her life flashed across her vision. The lovely blush of her olive skin faded with the slowing heartbeat finishing its twenty year dance inside her chest. Opening her eyes to the fading light of the sky, she inhaled her final breath of oxygen. The seconds ticked down like hours as she waited for the end.

1…2…3…4…

Stella found herself wondering what the afterlife would be like. Where would she go? Is somebody waiting for her on the other side?

5…6…7…8…

She felt his lips brush away from her throbbing neck, the warm liquid turning cold and uncomfortable. Nothing happened…

9…10…

But then, something happened. It felt like fire—flames scorching her insides until nothing but numbness overtook her. He suddenly laughed, a maniacal, heartless laugh that terrorized her more than the changes taking place physically and mentally upon her. Bones cracked underneath her skin, mending a second time… mending a new body.

"Welcome to the afterlife, child of the night."

Stella let out a final scream of surrender, the voice emitting from her mouth far from human to her utter shock as she fell weightless into the pit of black enveloping her.


End file.
